Pardee Homes Promotes Environmental Sensitivity in Olive Hill

The community of Olive Hill celebrates open space with an emphasis on great rooms for entertainment or relaxation that easily flow into both formal and casual dining

By Sergio Flores

Photography by Christopher Mayer

Nestled in the idyllic setting of Bonsall near the San Luis Rey River in San Diego, Calif. are the spacious, half-acre home sites of Pardee Homes’ new innovative single-story community, Olive Hill.

The community of Olive Hill opened on October 3rd, 2015, and is currently an on-going development slated for completion by December 2017. At full build out, the community will feature an exquisite collection of 37 single-story homes. To date, 17 homes have been released, with 10 sold and 3 closed.

East of Oceanside and Camp Pendleton, Bonsall is known for its rural, equestrian lifestyle, but the best of metropolitan Southern California is still within an arm’s reach at every side; within an hour’s drive is urban San Diego, Orange, and Riverside counties.

Olive Hill celebrates space with an emphasis on great rooms for entertainment or relaxation that easily flow into both formal and casual dining.

The community of Bonsall is the perfect place to showcase these innovative, single-story floorplans for larger lots by award-winning builder, Pardee Homes. The charming community is located less than 30 minutes from the coast and a mere five miles from Interstate 15. Additional community amenities include Bonsall’s River Village Plaza shopping center that hosts a unique blend of restaurants, services and offices, a grocery store, and multi-screen movie theatre.

For familial and recreational activities, the impressive 27-acre historic natural area of Live Oak Park in Fallbrook is nearby. Ideal for weddings, picnicking, strolling and exercising, as well as sharing time with family and friends, the park offers plenty of space for a plethora of activities—all with the beauty of a sprawling canopy of massive oaks serving as a serene backdrop. The park also includes an amphitheater, volleyball court, two playgrounds, three softball fields, basketball court, soccer fields, and a leash-free dog area. As if the amenities weren’t plentiful already, residents at Olive Hill will belong to the top-rated Bonsall Unified School District.

A pioneer in sustainable building, Pardee endeavors to bring to families healthy, comfortable, and cost-efficient homes, on the simple basis that green homes are better built homes.

Since each homesite at Olive Hill averages about half-an-acre, Pardee Homes wanted to utilize the space to create a perfect balance between entertainment and relaxation in the lulling setting of Bonsall. Partnering with Newport Beach architect Bassenian Lagoni Architects, the goal of Olive Hill was to create homesites that offered premium value through cost-effective construction techniques.

The primary building challenge for Olive Hill was the water retention basins adjacent to homesites. The solution was to provide enhanced slopes and refocus attention to the community’s 46 percent open space area. “As always, with this type of architecture, it is a very collaborative effort between the architect and the developer,” said Regional Director of Marketing for Pardee Homes’ San Diego division, Liz Ramirez. “We work together in real-time design sessions to find solutions and answers and receive immediate feedback.”

The architectural style of the home is truly distinct, with details that reflect the serene nature of the countryside neighborhood and varying color palettes that complement the street scene. Other fine touches include Therma-Tru Classic-Craft® Rustic and Smooth-Star entry doors, Schlage’s decorative satin nickel finish entry door hardware, an option of either French door or stackable doors, and vinyl windows with dual-paned spectrally selective glass and options for gliders. Each feature contributes to the welcoming and distinct design of Olive Hill.

“The comfortable homes of Olive Hill create a picturesque setting, richly flavored by indigenous architectural styles such as Spanish, Country Ranch, and Tuscan,” said Ramirez.

Each of the four available floor plans is gracious and versatile, with homes offering 4 to 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths—on approximately 2,962 to 3,846 square feet. Interior highlights include a great living room with both casual and formal dining areas, welcoming front porch entries, state-of-the-art gourmet kitchens with large preparation islands, outdoor rooms, and three of the four floor plans feature an entertaining game room.

“At Olive Hill, space is celebrated with an emphasis on great rooms for entertainment or relaxation that easily flow into both formal and casual dining,” said Ramirez.

Each of the four available floor plans is gracious and versatile, with homes offering 4 to 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths—on approximately 2,962 to 3,846 square feet..

Plan 1 also offers a limited upstairs loft or optional fifth bedroom; and for those that love entertaining guests, Plan 4 features Pardee Homes’ exclusive GenSmart Suite™ with its own private entrances and spaces for living, sleeping, and eating—perfectly suited for an overnight guest or for personal use for a much-needed respite. Each floor plan can be customized to properly reflect the way the homeowner chooses to live. Options include a den, craft room, library, and spa shower—each offer varying per plan.

Plan 4 features Pardee Homes’ exclusive GenSmart Suite™ with its own private entrances and spaces for living, sleeping, and eating.

As the number one builder in San Diego County, Pardee Homes brings with them their renowned green program LivingSmart®, a package of standard and optional features catered to increase energy-efficiency and deliver a sustainable, smart, and healthy product for buyers.

Green isn’t a fad for Pardee, though; for more than 10 years, the builder has endeavored to bring to families healthy, comfortable, and cost-efficient homes—on the simple basis that green homes are better built homes. “Olive Hill is a small enclave of homes that demonstrate environmental sensitivity and the principals of our LivingSmart® program beautifully in such a way as to enhance the value of adjacent neighborhoods,” said Ramirez.

Each floor plan can be customized to properly reflect the way the homeowner chooses to live, with options like a den, craft room, library, and spa shower.

Construction featured extensive environmentally friendly techniques, and the home is suffused with a myriad of energy-efficient appliances. LivingSmart® is comprised of four segments, each aimed to focus on one sustainable and healthy aspect for the home: HealthSmart™, EnergySmart™, EarthSmart™, and WaterSmart™. The goal is to not only lower the cost of utility bills for their clients, but create a sustainable, healthy, and energy-efficient home that is environmentally responsible and can provide long-term peace of mind to owners.

“Greater comfort, better efficiency, and more savings—these are just some of the added benefits of a LivingSmart® home,” said Ramirez.And for the convenience of the homeowner, each homesite comes solar-ready should the owner choose to go the extra mile in energy efficiency.

The attention to fine detail and design, with plentiful amenities and available options make Olive Hill a perfect candidate for move-up families and empty nesters that offers a mixture of stylish single-story living in a charming rural setting.

A member of TRI Pointe Group, one of the largest homebuilders in the nation, Pardee Homes will continue to cultivate the San Diego area, taking immense pride in the rock-solid reputation it has built with customers over the years. Two new communities in the works for Pardee include Casavia at Pacific Highlands Ranch and Artesana at Pacific Highlands Ranch, both slated for completion in late summer for 2016.

Sergio Floresis an Assistant Editor for Green Home Builder magazine. He may be reached at sergio@penpubinc.com.